Garment hanger machine



March 28, 1939.

F. B. TODD I 2,152,109

GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24,v 1938 s Sheets-Sheet 1 7&1 M2 2523 Z INVENTOR M F 19. Todd I z v ATTORNEY March-28, 193 9., TODD2,152,109

' GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORBY ,Todd

ATTORNEY March 28, 1939. TODD 2,152,109

GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Y17 Tadd ATTORNEY GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24, 1938 5Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR ATTORNEY March 28, 1939. 5 TQDD 2,152,109

GARMENT HANGER MACHINE Filed March 24, 19 58 5 Sheets- Sheet Fir- /3Z/ZZ5 5 34 A26 I [golf /z/ 11L Mfr INVENTOR BY 1 7,5. 7002a W/%fimmATTORNEY Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATNT 13 Claims.

My invention relates to wire forming machinery and more particularlycontemplates the provision of a machine for forming wire garmenthangers.

My invention further contemplates improvements in a machine of this kindwhereby a large number of hangers may be formed per minute withoutcausing excessive vibration of the parts and breakage of the parts.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a forming machinedesigned to produce a better looking hanger and one having greaterstrength.

My invention embodies other novel features, details of construction, andarrangement of parts which are hereinafter set forth in thespecification and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,forming part thereof, where- Fig. 1 is a plan view of my. improvedmachine;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the feed carriage employed forcarrying the wire blank into engagement with the forming plate, andshowing the feed carriage in its inoperative position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the inward position of thefeed carriage with respect to the forming plate;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the feed carriage, showing thefingers employed for centering the wire blank;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the cam employed for moving thefeed carriage;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the shoulder forming mechanism,showing same in its forming position;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary View showing the manner in which theforming dies act with the form plate to form the shoulder portion of thehangers;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the inner ends of the formingdies and a portion of the form plate;

. Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view taken along the line IXIX of Fig. 8,showing the forming dies engaging the ends of the wire blank to centersame;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, showing the 50 forming dies intheir inward position;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detail view of the twister mechanism, showingthe means employed for rotating the twister head for twisting the endsof the wire blank together prior to the 55 hook forming operation.

Fig. 12 is a sectional detail view showing the means employed for movingthe twister head into and out of engagement with the ends of the wireblank;

Fig. 13 is a detail elevational view of the twister head;

Fig. 14 is a front View of the twister head;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary plan view of the hook forming mechanism;

Fig. 16 is a sectional view taken along the line XVIXVI 'of Fig. 15,showing the hook forming mechanism;

Fig. 17 is a detail sectional view of the hook forming mechanism at thecompletion of the hook forming operation;

Fig. 18 is a detail sectional view of the cam and lever means employedto move the hook forming mechanism into and out of engagement with thework;

Fig. 19 is a detail sectional view showing the work discharge mechanism;and

Fig. 20 is a detail view showing the type of wire hanger formed on mymachine.

Referring now to the drawings for a better understanding of myinvention, I show a machine comprising a frame ll provided with bearingbrackets l2 secured at the corners thereof to receive the shafts I3, Il, I5,.and l6. Bevel gears I! and I8 are secured at the ends of theshaft I3 for engagement with bevel gears l9 and 20, respectively,mounted on the shafts M and 15, respectively. A bevel gear 2| is securedon the shaft l5 to drive the bevel gear 22 secured on the end of theshaft l6. These shafts are driven by means of a gear 23 mounted on theshaft 13 and from any suitable source of power (not shown).

Feed carriage mechanism Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5,inclusive, I show a form plate 26 which is secured in a horizontal planeto the bottom of a cross frame member 21 by means of screws 28. The endsof the cross frame member being secured to the frame ll. Afeed carriage29 is mounted for reciprocation in front of the form plate 26 by meansof guide rods 3| which are mounted in bearings 32, provided on the frameII, and bearings 33 provided on the cross frame member 34. p

The feed carriage 29 is provided with an arm 36 which carries a roller31 at its end for engagement with a cam 38 secured on the shaft IS. Abearing 39 is mounted on the frame H to receive the arm 36. A pair offeeder arms 4| are employed to position the wire blanks, one at a time,between the feed carriage 29 and the form plate 26. As these feeder armsform no part of the present invention a further description of theconstruction and operation of same have been reserved for anotherapplication. A pair of fingers G3 are provided at each end of the feedcarriage to carry the wire blanks 42 from the feeder arms to the formplate; and a pair of forming members 44 are provided on the feedcarriage to act with the form plate to form the wire blanks and to holdsame against displacement throughout the following forming operations.

A pair of forming arms 36 are pivotally mounted on the under side of thefeed carriage 29 and provided with upturned fingers 41 for engagementwith the ends of the wire blanks to Wrap same around the ends of theform plate 26 as the feed carriage moves forwardly. The arms 46 areactuated by means of connecting links 48 which have their one endspivotally connected to the arms and their other ends slotted at 49 toreceive and engage pins 5i mounted on the frame I I. An adjustment screw52 is provided at the outer ends of the connecting links; and the innerends of the connecting links are connected by a tension spring 53.

Shoulder forming mechanism Referring now to Figs. 1 and 6 to 10,inclusive, I show a pair of shoulder forming arms 56 and 51 mounted forreciprocation in bearings 58 and 59, respectively, secured to the innersides of the frame II. Rollers GI and 62 are provided on the outer endsof the arms for engagement in cam slots 63 and 64 formed in the earns 66and 61, respectively. The cam 66 is secured on the shaft I4 and the cam61 is secured on the shaft I5. Forming dies 68 and 66 are secured on theinner ends of the forming arms and are preferably adjustably mountedthereon by'means of screws II.

The upper end of the forming die 68 is formed with a projectingcentering lug 12; and the lower end of the die 69 is formed with aprojecting centering lug 13. Slots 14 and 16 are formed in the ends ofthe dies 68 and 69, respectively, and at the base of the centering lugsto receive the ends of the wire blanks. The forming dies act with theform plate 26 to form the shoulder portion of the hangers and act with atongue portion 11 on the form plate to cause the free ends of the wireblanks to project rearwardly in a horizontal plane and in parallelrelationship.

Twisting mechanism Referring now to Figs. 1 and 11 to 14, inclusive, Ishow a twisting mechanism comprising a shaft 8| provided with a twisterhead 82 and journaled in bearings 83 and 8d. The shaft is moved axiallyby means of a cam 86 formed with a cam slot 81 to receive a roller 88mounted on one end of a push rod 89.

The push rod 89 is mounted for axial movement in bearings 9I and engagesone end of a connecting link 92 having its other end pivotally engaginga lever 93. The lever 93 is pivotally mounted on a bearing 9d secured tothe frame I l and has pins 96 mounted in its free end for encollar 98.mounted on a lever I01 intermediate its ends.

The upper end of the lever is pivotally mounted on a bearing bracket I63and its lower end is pivotally connected to a connecting link I99. Theother end of the connecting link is pivotally connected to a gearsegment I I I mounted for pivotal movement on a stud bearing H2 securedto the frame II. The gear segment meshes with a pinion gear II3 which iskeyed to the shaft 8| to prevent relative rotational movement and yetpermit relative axial movement. A finger H4 is mounted on the frame IIto engage in a slot IIB formed in the hub of the pinion gear. Acompression spring II1 is mounted on the shaft BI between the bearing 83and the twister head 82; and a compression spring H8 is mounted on theshaft BI between the bearing 33 and a lock collar IIS secured to theshaft. The twister head and the shaft 8| are formed with a slot I2!) toreceive he ends of the wire blank.

H ook forming mechanism Referring now to Figs. 1 and 15 to 18,inclusive, I show a hook forming mechanism comprising a rocking frameI2I pivotally mounted on bearings I22 and formed with an actuating armI23. A hook forming arm I 2% is journaled in the frame and provided witha crank arm I26 the end of which is pivotally connected to a stop memberI21 slotted at I28 to receive a pin I28 mounted on a bracket ISI on theframe. An adjustment screw I32 is mounted in the end of the stop member.A cable clamp I33, secured to the end of a cable I 34, is also pivotallyconnected to the end of the crankarm I26; and a roller I36 is mounted onthe end of the hook forming arm I24. Another hook forming'arm I 31 isjournaled on the frame I2! and carries a roller I38 at its end to coactwith the roller I36 to form the hook on the wire blank. The roller I38is formed with grooves I39 to receive the end of the Wire blank. Asprocket gear IQ! is secured to the arm I31.

The frame I2I is moved up and down by means of a cam I 32 having a camslot Hi3 adapted to receive a roller M4 mounted on a rocking lever I46at its lower end. The lever I 46 is pivotally mounted intermediate itsends on a bracket I41 mounted on the frame II and has its upper endengaging the actuating arm I 23 through a connecting link I48. Thelength of the connecting link Hi8 may be adjusted by means of aturnbuckle Ite. A wire positioning lever IEI is pivotally mounted on abracket I52. provided on the cross frame member 3 5 and has its endpivotally connected to a connecting link I50 which, in turn, ispivotally connected to the frame I 2|.

The cable I35 is connected to one end of a sprocket chain I53 whichextends around the sprocket I54, sprocket I I I, and then has its otherend connected to one end of a tension spring I55 connected to the framemember 21. The sprocket I55 is journaled in a bracket I56 pivotallymounted on the upper end of a rocking lever I51. This lever is pivotallymounted adjacent its center on a bracket I58 provided on the frame I Iand carries a roller I 59 at its lower end for engagement with a cam I6Isecured on the shaft I5.

Discharge mechanism Referringnow to Figs. 1 and 19. I show a dischargemechanism comprising a discharge plate I66 provided with a pair ofvertically disposed kick-off rods I61 mounted in bearings I65 providedon the cross member 21. An arm I 69 is also provided on the plate I 66to act with the rods I61 to remove the finished hangers from the formplate. Compression springs III are interposed between the plate I56 andthe bearings. I68 to yieldably resist a downward movement of thedischarge plate. A pair of rocker arms I72 and "3 are pivotally mountedon the cross member 21 and having their upper ends engaging thedischarge plate while their lower ends .are provided with rollers IM-and I75, respectively, for engagement with cams IT! and H8,respectively. The cams I11 and I78 are secured on the shafts I4 and I5,respectively.

In the operation of my machine, the wire blanks 42 are carried fromtheir position on the feed arms 4| to the form plate 26 by means of thefeed carriage 29 which is actuated by the cam 38. The fingers #13, whichform a V-shaped recess onthe front of the feed carriage, serve to,position the wire blanks against the form plate where they are thenformed and held against displacement by the forming lugs 44. The formplate and the forming lugs act to indent the trouser support bar 208 ofthe wire hanger 20!. The feeding movement of the feed carriage alsocausesthe connecting links 43' to pivot the forming arms. 46 about theiraxes to bend the wire blanks around the corners of the form plate 26.The tension spring 5;; acts to pivot the forming arms M5 on the returnstroke of the feeding carriage to take up the lost motion between theconnecting links 48 and the pins 5|.

While the wire blank is being held in position on the form plate by theforming lugs 44 and fingers 4'! of the forming arms 46, the shoulderforming arms 56 and 57 are caused to move inwardly by their respectivecams 6'6 and BI. The forming dies 58 and 69 act with the form plate toform the shoulder portion 202 of the hangers. The forward ends of thedies are provided with positioning lugs I2 and I3 and slots I4 and It toaccurately position the wire blank ends on the form. plate 26 and actwith the tongue 11 to bend the ends of the wire outwardly from the formplate for the twisting operation. The forming dies hold the wire blankin position on the forming plate during the twisting operation, and thepositioning lugs are arranged to carry the thrust of the wire endsduring the twisting operation. As viewed in Fig. 10, the wire ends aretwisted in a clockwise direction in order that the lugs I2 and I3 willprevent displacement of the wire.

In the twisting operation to form the twist 203 in the hanger, the cam86 acts through the push rod 89, connecting link 92, lever 93, and shaft8I to move the twister head 82 forward to receive the ends of the wireblank in the slot I20. The twister head 82 is then rotated by means ofthe cam I03 which acts through the lever III'I, connecting link I69,gear segment III, and pinion gear I I3 mounted on the shaft 8I. Afterthe ends of the wire have been twisted together, the twister head ismoved rearwardly by the cam 86. The springs III and IIB serve toovercome the momentum of the moving parts.

The frame I2l of the hook forming mechanism is next lowered to form thehook 203 of the hanger. The frame I2I is actuated by the cam I42 actingthrough a rocking lever I46 and connecting link M8. In forming the hook,the cam IGI acts through a rocking lever I5'I to move the gear sprocketI54 away from the frame I2I, thereby pulling the crank arm I26 until thestop screw I32 strikes the stop pin I29. The axis of the roller I36 isthen positioned in alignment with the axis of the arm I31 and a furthermovement of the sprocket I54 causes the chain I53 to rotate the gearsprocket IM which acts to bring the roller I38 around the roller I36 toform the hook. The rollers are then returned to their first position bymeans of the spring I30 which is under tension; and the frame is movedto its upper position by the cam I42.

The finished hanger is next discharged downwardly from the form plate 26by the downward movement of the fingers I6! and I69 actuated by the camsI11 and I18 through the rocking levers I72 and I13. The springs I'II actto return these parts to their first position.

While I have shown my invention in but one form it is obvious to thoseskilled in the art that it is not so limited but is susceptible ofvarious changes and modifications without departing from the spiritthereof; and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall beplaced thereupon as are imposed by the prior art.

I claim:

1. In a machine for forming wiregarment hangers, the combination with aform plate, of

a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the form plate, forming armspivotally mounted on the underside of the feed carriage, upturnedfingers provided on the forming arms for engagement with the ends of thewire blanks, and connecting links having their inner ends pivotallyconnected to the forming arms and their outer ends engaging the frame ofthe machine for actuating the forming arms to bend the wire blanksaround the form plate.

2. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination with aform plate, of a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the formplate, cam means for actuating said feed carriage, forming armspivotally mounted on the feed carriage, connecting links having theirone ends connected to the forming arms and their other end engaging theframe of the machine, and tension spring means connecting the connectinglinks adjacent their ends connecting the forming arms.

3. A machine according to claim. 2 in which, blank positioning fingersare provided on the feed carriage to position the blanks on the form pate.

4. A machine according to claim 2 in which, forming lugs are provided onthe feed carriage to act with the form plate to form the wire blank.

5. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination with aform plate, of a pair of reciprocating dies to coact with the form plateto form the shoulder portion of the wire hangers, and positioning lugsprovided on the reciprocating dies for positioning the wire blankbetween the dies and the form plate during the shoulder formingoperation.

6. A machine according to claim 5 in which, slots are formed at the baseof the positioning lugs to receive the wire blank.

'I. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, a hook forming frame,a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said frame, a roller provided oneach arm for engagement with the wire blank to form a hook portionthereon, common means for moving said arms, and means for moving thehook forming frame into and out of operating position with respect tothe wire blank.

8. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, a hook forming frame,a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said frame, a roller provided oneach of said arms for engagement with the wire blanks to form a hookportion thereon, common means for moving said arms, means for moving thehook forming frame into and out of operating position with respect tothe wire blank being formed, and means actuated by the hook formingframe for positioning the end of the wire blank with respect to therollers prior to the hook forming operation.

9. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, a hook forming frame,a pair of arms pivotally mounted on said frame, a roller provided oneach of said arms for engagement with the wire blanks to form a hookportion thereon, a flexible connection engaging the arms to pivot Isame, cam actuated means for operating the flexible connection,adjustable stop means provided on one of said arms to limit the movementof same, means for moving the hook forming frame into and out ofoperating position with respect to the wire blank being formed, andmeans for positioning the end of the wire blank with respect to therollers prior to the hook forming operation.

10. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination witha form plate, of a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the formplate, means for actuating said feed carriage, forming arms pivotallymounted on the feed carriage, upturned fingers provided onthe :1, iforming arms for engagement with the ends of the wire blanks, connectinglinks having their inner ends pivotally connected to their respectiveforming arms and their outer ends engaging the frame of the machine, andtension spring means connecting the connecting'links adjacent theirinner ends.

1. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination with aform plate, of a feed carriage for carrying wire blanks to the formplate, means for actuating said fee-d carriage, forming arms pivotallymounted on the underside of the feed carriage, upturned fingers providedon the forming arms for engagement with the ends of the wire blanks,connecting links having their inner ends pivotally connected to theirrespective forming arms and their outer ends engaging the frame of themachine, tension spring means connecting the connecting links adjacenttheir inner ends, and adjustment means for regulating the pivotalmovement of the forming arms.

12. In a machine for forming wire garment hangers, the combination witha form plate secured to the frame of the machine, of a feed carriage forcarrying wire blanks to the form plate, cam means for actuating saidfeed carriage, forming arms pivotally mounted on the underside of thefeed carriage, upturned fingers provided on the forming arms forengagement with the ends of the wire blanks to bend same around the formplate, connecting links having their inner ends pivotally connected totheir respective forming arms, means defining slots in the outer ends ofthe connecting links, pins mounted on the frame of the machine forengagement in their respective slots formed in the connecting links, andadjustment screws provided on the connecting links for engagement withsaid pins.

13. In a machine for forming Wire garment hangers, the combination witha form plate secured to the frame of the machine, of'a feed carriage forcarrying wire blanks to the form plate, cam means for actuating saidfeed carriage, forming arms pivotally mounted on the feed carriage forbending the ends of the wire .blanks around the form plate, connectinglinks having their inner ends pivotally connected to their respectiveforming arms and their outer ends engaging the frame of the machine, apair FRANCIS B. TODD.

